Classifications

• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
  • E21B33/10—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells in the borehole
  • E21B33/13—Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices or the like
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
  • E21B33/10—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells in the borehole
  • E21B33/13—Methods or devices for cementing, for plugging holes, crevices or the like
  • E21B33/138—Plastering the borehole wall; Injecting into the formation
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C09—DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • C09K—MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • C09K8/00—Compositions for drilling of boreholes or wells; Compositions for treating boreholes or wells, e.g. for completion or for remedial operations
  • C09K8/42—Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells
• • C—CHEMISTRY; METALLURGY
  • C09—DYES; PAINTS; POLISHES; NATURAL RESINS; ADHESIVES; COMPOSITIONS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; APPLICATIONS OF MATERIALS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
  • C09K—MATERIALS FOR MISCELLANEOUS APPLICATIONS, NOT PROVIDED FOR ELSEWHERE
  • C09K8/00—Compositions for drilling of boreholes or wells; Compositions for treating boreholes or wells, e.g. for completion or for remedial operations
  • C09K8/42—Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells
  • C09K8/46—Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells containing inorganic binders, e.g. Portland cement
  • C09K8/467—Compositions for cementing, e.g. for cementing casings into boreholes; Compositions for plugging, e.g. for killing wells containing inorganic binders, e.g. Portland cement containing additives for specific purposes
  • C09K8/48—Density increasing or weighting additives
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B33/00—Sealing or packing boreholes or wells
  • E21B33/02—Surface sealing or packing
  • E21B33/03—Well heads; Setting-up thereof
  • E21B33/068—Well heads; Setting-up thereof having provision for introducing objects or fluids into, or removing objects from, wells
  • E21B33/076—Well heads; Setting-up thereof having provision for introducing objects or fluids into, or removing objects from, wells specially adapted for underwater installations
• • E—FIXED CONSTRUCTIONS
  • E21—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; MINING
  • E21B—EARTH OR ROCK DRILLING; OBTAINING OIL, GAS, WATER, SOLUBLE OR MELTABLE MATERIALS OR A SLURRY OF MINERALS FROM WELLS
  • E21B43/00—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells
  • E21B43/01—Methods or apparatus for obtaining oil, gas, water, soluble or meltable materials or a slurry of minerals from wells specially adapted for obtaining from underwater installations
  • E21B43/0122—Collecting oil or the like from a submerged leakage

Definitions

• the present patent application relates to a process for stopping or at least reducing the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons, blowout, from a well for the extraction of hydrocarbons.
• blowout preventers which act as valves and can close the well in the case of uncontrolled leakages of fluids from the well itself .
• blowout accidents can also occur before the installation of the BOPs.
• Capping is a valve closing technique widely used in onshore blowouts but difficult to apply offshore, especially at great depths.
• a killing intervention consists in the insertion of a specific string of extension rods (killing string) inside a blowout well, which allows conventional killing techniques to be applied such as the circulation of heavy mud, closure by means of shutters or inflatable packers, and so forth.
• This method can at present only be used in the case of well blowouts in shallow water, i.e. less than 1,000 m depth, which offers the possibility of reasonable underwater visibility conditions and also the possibility of moving the killing string relatively easily by means of the drilling plant.
• An objective of the present invention is to reduce the operation times for stopping the blowout (a few days against the weeks/months necessary with current techniques) , also overcoming the possible drawbacks mentioned above, thanks to the injection into the well of high-density solids having suitable dimensions. also be applied in cases in which the integrity of the well allows neither closure at the head nor the killing of the well by pumping mud from the BOP.
• the process, object of the present invention for stopping or at least reducing the uncontrolled release of hydrocarbons, blowout, from a well for the extraction of hydrocarbons, comprises introducing high- density solids at the bottom of the well, through a suitable line, preferably having a density higher than 7,000 kg/m 3 , more preferably higher than 10,000 kg/m 3 , having a polyhedral, spheroidal, ellipsoidal or paraboloidal form, regular or irregular, the smallest dimension being greater than 1 mm, preferably greater than 2.5 mm, and the largest dimension less than 100 mm, preferably less than 50 mm, so that said solids introduced accumulate by random packing at the bottom of the well, forming a column which totally, or at least partially, blocks the uncontrolled release of said hydrocarbons.
• the solids must consist of or contain a material which allows to achieve a high density in order to guarantee their sinking also under extremely high blowout flow-rate conditions: among materials that can be used, lead or tungsten are recommended.
• the form of the solids introduced is preferably spheroidal, more preferably selected from spheres, oblate spheroids (flattened spheres) and prolate
• spheres preferably selected from spheres, oblate spheroids (flattened spheres) and prolate
• prolate In the case of both spheres and cubes, the smallest dimension and largest dimension obviously coincide and consequently the preferred ranges must correspond to minimum and maximum values of the same dimension.
• At least part of the solids introduced can be coated or contain a swelling material in contact with the liquids released during the blowout, hydrocarbons or water depending on the circumstances, preferably selected from a polymer or resin.
• the density of the solid coated by the swelling material or containing the swelling material is preferably higher than 7,000 kg/m 3 and the density of the material forming the coated solid, without the swelling material, is higher than 10,000 kg/m 3 .
• This swelling material is to fill, by expansion, the empty spaces left free by the solids during the spontaneous packing and in this way stop or significantly reduce the uncontrolled flow of hydrocarbons from the well.
• coated solids i.e. solids containing swelling material
• the swelling resin or polymer is preferably selected from those sensitive to the presence of hydrocarbons.
• the volumetric swelling of the resin or polymer may preferably vary from 50 to 8 , 000%, depending on the product used and the thickness applied .
• the ratio between solids introduced neither coated nor containing swelling material/solids introduced coated or containing swelling material is preferably selected from 5/1 to 1/5.
• the surface of the solids can be smooth or rough in relation to the coating requirements or availability.
• the method according to the present invention can be effected on any type of well for the extraction of hydrocarbons, in particular offshore wells in which
• the suitable insertion line for introducing the solids at the bottom of the underwater well should preferably connect the floater of the underwater well to the BOP at the bottom of the well: this line can be:
• a liquid preferably containing water, possibly viscosized water with the addition of a viscosifying polymer, for example carboxymethyl cellulose or xanthan gum, can be possibly pumped into the introduction line or duct of the solids in concentrations known in the formulation as drilling fluids, at a rate which is sufficient for ensuring that the solids are also carried into horizontal sections of the duct or slight slopes.
• a viscosifying polymer for example carboxymethyl cellulose or xanthan gum
• the solids can be inserted into the injection duct, at the outlet of the pumps, with simple devices already existing, possibly optimized in order to allow said solids to be automatically ejected at a preferred frequency of at least one solid per second, thus reducing the time necessary for stopping the blowout.
• ejection devices can be used or adapted, for example, those for injecting ball sealers (plastic balls, pumped with acid, which improve the stimulation efficiency) into the well. number and size of the solids, type of polymer and thickness, suitable alternation of solids without swelling material/solids coated with or containing swelling material (alternation necessary for preventing, in the absence of an overlying weight, the swollen solids from floating and rising up in column) , viscosity and flow-rate of the carrier liquid (seawater) .
• ball sealers plastic balls, pumped with acid, which improve the stimulation efficiency
• figure 1 is a schematic representation of a possible applicative context, comprising an offshore well (P) under blowout conditions; an intervention ship (N) , which can also coincide with the means used for drilling the well, equipped with the injection devices of figures 4 and 5 and storage devices of the solids, and introduction lines (L) of heavy solids into the well ;
• figure 2 represents a detail of the possible route of the heavy bodies through the valves and ducts available wherein the arrows indicate the possible route of the solids through the introduction lines into the well (P) ;
• FIG. 3 schematizes a possible implementation of the injection system of heavy solids having small dimensions (indicatively having a maximum diameter of not more than 3 mm) , wherein the solids are accumulated in a hopper (T) and mixed in the tank (S) with the fluid (F) so as to form a suspension (D) pumped into solids having a larger dimension, i.e. such as not to be able to pass directly into an injection pump, wherein the solids are accumulated in a suitable container and are introduced into an apparatus (A) which, through a specific valve system (V) , introduces each solid into the fluid (F) which is flowing in the lines (L) ;
• V valve system
• FIG. 5 represents a stratification of heavy solids, progressively introduced into the well, useful for achieving the objectives claimed in the present invention, i.e. the progressive reduction in the flow- rate of hydrocarbons released into the environment until the complete stoppage of the same, wherein (A) is the first layer of non-coated solids, having small dimensions, injected until the production level is exceeded and a reduction in the blowout flow-rate is observed, (B) is the second layer of solids having larger dimensions coated with the swelling resin, (C) is the third layer of solids having larger dimensions not coated with resin.
• Example well a possible implementation of the present invention is represented by effecting the following operations in sequence:
• This injection operation is prolonged until an evident reduction in the underwater blowout flow- rate is registered. It can be expected, for example, that this reduction requires the formation of a bed of solids having a height equal to about 60 meters, i.e. equal to about 1 m 3 of dispersed solids. At the established concentration of solids of 2.5%, this volume would be obtained by injecting production level, from which the hydrocarbons are released, is not known and could be different from that at the well bottom. Consequently, as an example, with reference to figure 5, it is assumed that a column (A) of solids equal to 240 m must be formed before reaching the production level and that a further 60 m of solid must be accumulated above this level to obtain an observable reduction in the blowout flow-rate. A total of 5 m 3 of dispersion must therefore be pumped to obtain the layer of solids called (A) . This operation will require about 3 hours to be effected.
• (B) A bed, 20 m high, (B) of solids coated with swelling resin, having a larger dimension than the solids of phase (A) , is pumped above the bed of small non-coated solids created in the previous phase (A) . These solids are injected with the device illustrated in figure 4. As an example, an injection frequency of these coated solids equal to about 10 solids/second, is assumed. This flow of solids is carried along the 3-inch injection lines with the same water flow-rate used in phase (A) . Considering a weight of each solid equal to about 35 grams, this operation requires the injection of about 250,000 solids into the well and an operating time of about 3 hours.
• phase (C) The injection of coated solids is followed by the form as those of phase (B) and using the same equipment. Following the same analysis as phase (B) , this injection requires about 6 hours.
• the solids coated with swelling resin can be obtained by immersion in a resin latex dispersed in water and subsequent drying, possibly at a temperature suitable for the vulcanization of the same resin, to which a vulcanizing agent has been previously added.
• This vulcanization operation has the effect of preventing the dissolution of the resin in the hydrocarbons, with the possible negative consequence of the resin in order to produce detectable effects about 12 hours after the first contact of the resin with the hydrocarbons .

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Geology (AREA)
• Mining & Mineral Resources (AREA)
• General Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental & Geological Engineering (AREA)
• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Fluid Mechanics (AREA)
• Geochemistry & Mineralogy (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Organic Chemistry (AREA)
• Materials Engineering (AREA)
• Oil, Petroleum & Natural Gas (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Physical Or Chemical Processes And Apparatus (AREA)
• Production Of Liquid Hydrocarbon Mixture For Refining Petroleum (AREA)
• Extraction Or Liquid Replacement (AREA)
• Application Of Or Painting With Fluid Materials (AREA)
• Consolidation Of Soil By Introduction Of Solidifying Substances Into Soil (AREA)
• Investigation Of Foundation Soil And Reinforcement Of Foundation Soil By Compacting Or Drainage (AREA)
• Bidet-Like Cleaning Device And Other Flush Toilet Accessories (AREA)
• Toilet Supplies (AREA)
• Treatment Of Liquids With Adsorbents In General (AREA)
• Solid-Sorbent Or Filter-Aiding Compositions (AREA)
• Removal Of Floating Material (AREA)
• Detergent Compositions (AREA)
• Feeding And Controlling Fuel (AREA)
• Sealing Material Composition (AREA)

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• 2011
  • 2011-10-03 IT IT001782A patent/ITMI20111782A1/it unknown
• 2012
  • 2012-09-26 BR BR112014007839-4A patent/BR112014007839B1/pt active IP Right Grant
  • 2012-09-26 NO NO20140413A patent/NO345555B1/no unknown
  • 2012-09-26 DK DKPA201400179A patent/DK179676B1/da active IP Right Grant
  • 2012-09-26 AP AP2014007513A patent/AP2014007513A0/xx unknown
  • 2012-09-26 AU AU2012320115A patent/AU2012320115B2/en active Active
  • 2012-09-26 CN CN201280048523.2A patent/CN103958823B/zh active Active
  • 2012-09-26 WO PCT/IB2012/055125 patent/WO2013050905A1/en active Application Filing
  • 2012-09-26 RU RU2014117703A patent/RU2611085C2/ru active
  • 2012-09-26 US US14/349,021 patent/US9187972B2/en active Active
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